West Ham United midfielder Edson Alvarez has only recently returned from a serious hamstring injury.
West Ham brought Edson Alvarez to the London Stadium from Ajax in the summer of 2023 for around £34 million.
The 26-year-old has proven to be an exceptional signing for the Hammers, so it was a huge blow when the Mexican midfielder picked up a hamstring injury when playing for his country back in June.
Edson Alvarez is the glue that holds this West Ham team together, and his recent return to action has made West Ham look instantly stronger in the middle of the park.
Julen Lopetegui will be so pleased to have Alvarez back in the team, and the Hammers head coach would have been delighted when it emerged that the tenacious tackling midfielder was set to remain at Rush Green during the current international break, rather than link up with Mexico.
Between the end of this international break and the start of the next one, West Ham face five hugely challenging games – four in the Premier League and one in the Carabao Cup.
The Hammers fans will want to see big improvements from Lopetegui and his players during this next five-game stretch.
And having Alvarez as part of the group throughout the current international break will be key to our hopes of emerging from that period unscathed.
Edson Alvarez controversy causes anger, West Ham will be euphoric
The 26-year-old midfielder is still clearly working very hard to regain his full fitness.
And so he should be – he’s a vital player for the Hammers, and we need him to get up to speed as soon as possible.
That’s seemingly not how they see things out in Mexico though, with two international games to come over this next week.
Football journalist Alberto Bernard has been covering Alvarez’s current situation for Record in Mexico.
He demanded answers from Mexico manager Javier Aguirre as to why the 26-year-old has been left out of the latest squad.
Alvarez’s absence has ‘raised eyebrows back in his homeland’, due to the fact that he has played West Ham’s last two games.
Mexican anger towards Edson Alvarez is unfounded
Let’s have this right, Alvarez has only made one start for the Hammers since he suffered his hamstring injury in the summer, and just one substitute appearance.
West Ham pay his wages, so flying out thousands of miles to link up with his national team to play two games and risk injury again would have been totally inappropriate from Alvarez.
In addition to that, the games that Mexico are about to face against New Zealand and Canada are both friendlies!
Why on earth are the Mexican football community demanding answers from Javier Aguirre about the former Ajax man’s absence?
It seems fairly obvious to me why he’s been left back in East London this time.
As angry as the Mexican people may well be about the Edson Alvarez situation, the West Ham fans, players, coaching staff and ownership will be over the moon.
The midfielder remaining at Rush Green during this international break was a no-brainer if you ask me.
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